FRANKLIN TWP. — Spreading ground water contamination may threaten the wells that provide drinking water to homes in the Bennington Parkway neighborhood near Franklin Park.

John Walker, a former member of the township Environmental Commission, wants the commission to seek mandatory testing of wells on Hillview, Vermont and Meadow avenues, at the western end of Bennington Parkway. Ground water contamination led about 132 homes in the eastern end of the Bennington Parkway neighborhood to connect to the public water system six years ago. The same contamination threatens wells on the west end of Bennington and the side streets, Walker said yesterday, April 5.

Walker told the Environmental Commission on March 19 that an open drainage pipe from a multi-bay auto repair shop on Route 27 could be the source of spreading petroleum- and chemical-waste contamination in the area. The garage is privately leased from the Raceway gas station on Route 27, Walker said.

“It’s something that just came up,” said commission Chairman Arnold Vernick on April 4, “The commission hasn’t been involved in it.”

But minutes from Environmental Commission meetings dating back two years cite multiple DEP notices of deficiencies and violations associated with the Raceway garage.

According to Walker, the ground water west of the garage is known to be contaminated with chemicals related to cleaning solvents and petroleum products since the 1970s. The garage was a Mobil station before Raceway took it over in 1998.

There have been two phases of private well testing in the Bennington Parkway area, including Evelyn, Lynwood, Garden and Central avenues. Walker was directly involved in the second phase, he said, between 2002 and 2006, at which time 132 wells in the area were capped and the homes were tied into the public water system.

“Almost every well had some contamination,” Walker said on April 5. Many were over the limits with regard to the chemical contaminants, he said.

By law, Walker said, when a house is sold, its well has to be tested. But with the real estate market down, very little testing is being done, he said. “We haven’t done widespread testing in six years,” Walker said.

About 18 months ago, a well located on Bennington Parkway outside the Phase II area was found to be contaminated, according to Walker.

“We never truly remediated after Phase 1 or 2,” he said. “The stuff is in the ground,” he said, and still moving, probably north and east.

Along with a dry cleaner and other commercial operations on Route 27, Walker said, the auto repair shop was historically the source of the contamination — although it may not be currently polluting.

“There is at least one floor drain from the shop area that’s piped out the back of the building. The 3-acre Raceway property extends 1,200 feet from Route 27, Walker said, and abuts residences on Bennington Parkway. “It dead-ends there,” he said, “and the stuff just flows into the soil.”

“Why aren’t we taking steps to (have the repair shop) seal the floor drain and make them install holding tanks?” Walker said.

He said the Environmental Commission received a report about the pipe from the Health Department on April 2, but he hasn’t seen it.

County Health Department Director Paul Masaba said on April 4 that inspectors had been unable to find evidence of a capped well, but did find “a kind of pipe stuck in the ground.” He said the inspector was currently waiting for a return call from Walker before determining whether to recommend additional action.

The township had an “active” health department until 2008, Walker said, when it transferred those duties to the county Health Department. “We’ve lost control over (our) health issues,” he said. “We don’t have anyone local looking after out concerns.”
Reach Warren Cooper at wcooper@njnpublishing.com or 908-948-1261.